CHAPTER 7
"If there was hope, it must lie in the proles" (69)
Here he talks about how Oceania could be overthrown, he recognizes that the biggest group in Oceania are the proles as they make up 85% of the country. If they got together they could overthrow the government. Unfortunately tho they are not very smart and ignorant to the control over them,
CHAPTER 8
"he saw that it was a human hand severed at the wrist. . . he kicked it into the gutter" (84)
I believe that this quote beautifully illustrates the way Oceania treats the whole 'Peace is war' thing they have going on. Their citizens are so used to it that they don't mind or truly really think twice about such incidents. A rocket had passed by and Winston saw the hand lying there after the attack and didn't find disgust in it at all. He just saw it as a bother.
Book 2
CHAPTER 1
"on it was written, in a large unformed handwriting 'I love you'" (108)
In this chapter, Winston discovers that dark-haired girl loves him. This is dangerous and they chose to meet in Victory Square at a Eurasian prisoners' tormenting.
CHAPTER 2
"'It was something in your face. . . as soon as I saw you I knew you were against them'" (122)
This quote is a quote from Julia when Winston asked her why she was attracted to him. Julia is a very smart and sneaky girl as she is able to look like a very dedicated citizen when in reality she's far from that. I have a prediction/concern, if she could tell that he was against Oceania, then who else can tell?
I didn't even think of the severed hand and Winston's reaction as an example of the Party's phrase, "Peace is war." Although I am completely inclined to fully reject their three phrases, when you put it that way, I can't help but see some truth to it all. Their peace really is war since they have become so used to the violence, oppression, and constantly encouraged hate.
ReplyDeleteReally, this can be seen in multiple places throughout the book.For instance, when Winston tells Julia just recently he wanted to rape and murder her, she shrugs it off, because in that society, it is normal to generate or harbor such terrible feelings towards each other because the Party brews distrust among the masses. The severed hand was just a distraction, just as totally rewriting history is just work.
Violence really is the calm state of Oceania. Thank you for the idea!
Your question of whether others can also see how Winston is a rebel is very intriguing. I didn’t thinking about this when I read the story and that is pretty concerning. But it could be possible that she noticed because she also relates to him in that way. Maybe their connection and her way of thinking allowed her to see that in him.
ReplyDeleteI like that you made the connections between the government and the people. The people actually have the greatest power potential, but they just don't realize it. The government currently has the most power but could be different. The potential power of the people is far greater than the potential power of the government. Nice work!
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